2011/01/12

Treasure Pot: Hohin

This is a type of tea sets used in Japan. Actually, the set in the pictuer has been handed down from my late gramdma.

It includes a teapot with no-handle called Hohin (literal. a treasure pot), two small teacups, and Yuzamashi (literal. to cool hot water), which is a temporary vessel for adjusting temperatures of hot water.

Obviously, if you prepare black tea using Hohin, you would get burnt because it has no handle. You should remember it!

Hohin is used for Gyokuro and high-quality Sencha, both of which are characterized by plenty of umami. In order to take great advantage of the character, lower-temperature hot water is a must. Infusing at too high a temperature extracts catechin (astringency ingredient) together with theanine (umami ingredient). Therefore, boiling water is not appropriate for preparing Gyokuro and high-quality Sencha.

Introduction

I came to be a big tea lover thanks to English tea. I was fascinated with their tea culture including tea life and history during my stay in the U.K.
Of course, Japan also has a great tea culture and I have always enjoyed Japanese tea on a daily basis. As Japanese, I would love to share more info on "tea born in Japan" with you all through my blog.
Now I frequently travels to tea farms and tea areas to deepen my knowledge of the tea, and research the trend. I work as a coordinator to bring Japanese tea and people - regardless of the nationality - together, introducing various teas to customers, and tea farmers to tea shopkeepers, and tea growers to tea experts.
Recently, I have become especially focused on Japanese black tea “Wakocha. - published by AffiniTea -